The Faith Behind Pushing Through

When I first started writing Pushing Through, I did not set out to write a leadership guide.

At the beginning, it was not a book about how to work with youth, how to build a strong program, or how to help young men do hard things. Those lessons came later. The book became those things because that is what the experience became in my life.

The truth is, this story began with a church calling I did not want.

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, members are often invited by a bishop to serve in callings. We do not always choose the assignment. Sometimes we are asked to serve in ways that stretch us, inconvenience us, frighten us, or expose how unprepared we feel.

That was my experience when I was called to serve as a Scoutmaster.

I was reluctant. I was anxious. I felt severely unqualified. I had businesses to run, a family to care for, and plenty of reasons why someone else would surely be a better choice. More than once, I resisted the invitation. I did not see myself as the right man for the job.

But eventually I had to decide whether I believed God was involved in the calling.

If I believed He had asked me to serve, then I also had to believe He could help me do what I did not yet know how to do.

That is where the real story of Pushing Through begins.

As I accepted the calling and tried to move forward in faith, I began to experience something I can only describe as guidance. Ideas came. Impressions came. A quiet voice seemed to lead me. At times, I felt directed in how to plan, how to build, how to work with the boys, and how to create experiences that would stretch them without breaking them.

Camp Fowler, the service projects, the hard outings, the reflection circles, the lessons about doing hard things — these did not come because I was naturally gifted or fully prepared. They came because I prayed, listened, worked, failed, tried again, and felt God magnify my efforts.

Over time, the calling I had feared became one of the great blessings of my life. I developed skills, talents, confidence, love, and purpose I did not know I had. I came to feel that working with youth was not merely something I had been assigned to do; it was part of why God had placed me on the earth.

That is the testimony beneath the stories.

Yes, Pushing Through is about Scouting. Yes, it is about youth leadership. Yes, it is about service, hard things, faith, character, and helping young people rise. But underneath all of that, it is a testimony that God can take reluctant, anxious, imperfect people and magnify them in their callings.

If we are willing to say yes, pray, listen, prepare, work, and keep moving, He can make more of us than we could ever make of ourselves.

That is why I wrote this book.

A Calling I Did Not Want

I did not begin as someone eager to become a Scoutmaster. In fact, I told my bishop no more than once.

I had reasons. Some of them sounded reasonable to me at the time. I was busy. I owned and operated businesses. I had family responsibilities. I had my own anxieties. I did not feel qualified, and I did not feel especially interested in giving up my time to camp, hike, cook over fires, sleep in bad weather, and lead someone else’s boys.

What I did know was that the calling kept coming back. I could resist it. I could argue with it. I could explain why someone else would do better. But eventually, I had to wrestle with a deeper question:

Do I believe God is in this calling or not?

That question changed everything.

When God Magnifies a Calling

In our faith, we often speak about magnifying a calling. I used to think that meant doing the calling bigger, better, harder, and with more effort.

I still believe effort matters. But I have learned something else.

Sometimes God magnifies the person.

He enlarges capacity. He gives ideas. He opens doors. He sends help. He teaches through mistakes. He places people in the path. He gives courage in small portions — just enough to take the next step. He turns reluctance into willingness, willingness into effort, effort into skill, and skill into love.

That is what happened to me.

I was not transformed all at once. I still had anxiety. I still made mistakes. I still overthought things. I still worried about work, time, safety, details, and whether I was doing enough. But as I prayed, listened, prepared, trained, and kept showing up, I began to feel guided.

Sometimes the guidance came as an idea.

Sometimes it came as a quiet impression.

Sometimes it came through another leader, a young man, a parent, a mistake, or a problem that needed solving.

Sometimes it came in the form of a simple thought: build it, and they will come.

And they did.

The Voice That Guided the Work

Throughout the years described in Pushing Through, I often felt led by a quiet voice.

I do not mean that every idea was dramatic or spectacular. Much of it was simple, practical, and tied directly to the work in front of me:

Build a camp.

Make service part of the program.

Get the boys outside.

Let them carry responsibility.

Do not rescue too quickly.

Raise the bar with love.

Help them recognize God’s hand.

Teach them they can do hard things.

Those impressions shaped the way I led. They helped me understand that the activity itself was never the final purpose. Campouts, hikes, fires, merit badges, service projects, and hard challenges were tools. The real work was building young men — helping them become faithful, capable, service-minded, and strong enough to face life.

I came to believe that God cared deeply about those boys. He knew their names. He knew their strengths and weaknesses. He knew what they needed to experience. And because He cared about them, He was willing to work on me.

That may be one of the great surprises of service: God often changes the leader while the leader is trying to help others change.

From Reluctance to Purpose

Over time, the calling I once resisted became one of the most meaningful experiences of my life.

I began to love the work. I loved watching young men stretch, serve, fail, try again, and discover strength they did not know they had. I loved seeing them stand taller after doing something hard. I loved seeing the light come into their faces after meaningful service. I loved watching them learn to lead.

Somewhere along the way, I stopped thinking of Scouting as an interruption and started seeing youth leadership as part of my life’s purpose.

That change did not come because I was naturally suited for the job. It came because God can take what little we offer and make more of it.

He can take reluctance and turn it into service.

He can take fear and turn it into faith.

He can take weakness and turn it into usefulness.

He can take an anxious, underqualified man and help him become the leader a group of boys needs.

That is my testimony.

More Than a Scouting Book

I hope readers enjoy the stories in Pushing Through. Some are funny. Some are uncomfortable. Some are deeply personal. There are burned meals, bad water, cold camps, long rides, service projects, mistakes, do-overs, and moments when Heaven felt very close.

But I hope readers also see the deeper message.

This is not only a book about Scouting.

It is not only a book about boys doing hard things.

It is not only a book about leadership methods.

At its deepest level, Pushing Through is a testimony that God can magnify people in their callings. He can make more of us than we can make of ourselves. He can guide ordinary people to do work that matters.

The work may begin with fear.

It may begin with reluctance.

It may begin with the words, “I am not qualified.”

But if the calling comes from God, then so can the help.

The Invitation

If you are serving in a calling you did not choose, leading youth when you feel unprepared, raising children through difficult years, mentoring someone who needs more than you think you can give, or facing an assignment that feels bigger than you are, I hope this message encourages you.

You do not have to begin fully qualified.

You do not have to feel fearless.

You do not have to know every step.

But you do need to say yes, pray honestly, listen carefully, prepare faithfully, and keep moving.

God can magnify the willing.

He can guide the anxious.

He can teach the unprepared.

He can make weak things strong.

And sometimes, the calling you resist may become the very work that helps you discover why He needed you there in the first place.

That is the faith behind Pushing Through.

Raise the bar. Lead with love. Help them push through.

Paul